Tesla may be under criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice

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The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) may have opened up a criminal investigation into Telsa incorporated after statements made by CEO Elon Musk last month. Two sources familiar with the company and this matter have stated that DOJ is investigating potential fraud. This investigation, if true, would coincide with a similar investigation started by the SEC last month.

According to two people familiar with the company, Tesla Inc. is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The investigation, which allegedly coincides with an SEC probe started last month, is due to possible fraud. In August, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he was considering taking the company private and had secured funding to do so. Soon after that tweet, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) subpoenaed the company for information relating to these plans. Musk has since backpedaled on this statement.

While the reality of a criminal investigation by the DOJ is yet to be confirmed, a spokesperson for Tesla did state that the company was contacted by the department last month. In a statement to Bloomberg, the spokesperson said:

“Last month, following Elon’s announcement that he was considering taking the company private, Tesla received a voluntary request for documents from the DOJ and has been cooperative in responding to it. We have not received a subpoena, a request for testimony, or any other formal process. We respect the DOJ’s desire to get information about this and believe that the matter should be quickly resolved as they review the information they have received.”

Even though a criminal investigation hasn’t been fully confirmed by any involved party, the markets reacted poorly to these rumors. Tesla shares dropped to 7.9% today after news broke about the possible investigation. At the time of this writing, shares have rebounded a bit, resulting in a 3.6% net loss for the day. Tesla shares are down 8% year-to-date.

This news comes a day after a libel lawsuit was filed against Musk personally by Vernon Unsworth, the British cave diver that Musk publicly insulted. Musk called Unsworth, who was involved in the rescue of the Thai soccer team that was trapped in a cave earlier this year, of being a pedophile via Twitter in July.

I've been a "tech-head" my entire life. After graduating college with a degree in Mathematics, I worked in finance and banking a few years before taking a job as a Systems Analyst for my local school district. I started working with Notebookcheck in October of 2016 and have enjoyed writing news articles and notebook reviews. My areas of interest include the business side of technology, retro gaming, Linux, and innovative gadgets. When I'm not hunched over an electronic device or writing code for a new database, I'm either outside with my family, playing a decade-old video game, or sitting behind a drum set.